Chapter 4

The bathroom had grown chilly after their long soak, and Bella instinctively snuggled closer to Edward's warmth.

She caught his low, muffled laugh in response—clearly amused that while her words pushed him away, her body was happily doing the opposite.

"Get out. I need to get up," she said, irritation coloring her voice.

Before she could move, Edward scooped her up and out of the tub in one swift motion.

With their skin pressed together, delayed embarrassment sent Bella squirming in his arms. "Put me down. I can walk myself."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"

Following his downward glance, Bella suddenly remembered she hadn't brought any clothes into the bathroom.

Walking out meant walking out naked.

For someone as shy as Bella, this was an impossible challenge—one that Edward had clearly counted on.

A belated sadness washed over her.

He always seemed to know exactly how to control her, while she could never read what was going on in his mind.

"What's going on in that head of yours?" Edward had slipped on a shirt, leaving the top buttons undone, his expression cool and distant.

Just moments ago, he'd been all passion and heat, but now there wasn't a trace of that intimacy left.

Bella shook her head, her eyes fixed on the small box in his hands. "What's that?"

"A gift for you. Open it."

At his words, Bella opened the box with a carefully blank expression.

She assumed it would be like all the other times—some casually purchased piece of jewelry.

That was just how Edward operated.

Though he didn't want marriage, he was certainly generous with her.

But what good was generosity?

Not wanting marriage meant this was just casual fun, didn't it? Plus, he was so accustomed to doing whatever he pleased, like a breeze she couldn't catch.

How could Bella ever feel secure?

But in the next moment, her expression froze as she stared at the diamond ring inside.

The design looked familiar—she'd seen this exact style on a website just a couple days ago.

"How did you..." Bella seemed to malfunction, looking at Edward standing before her, unable to form words, her eyes involuntarily filling with hope.

Her heart stuttered traitorously in her chest.

When a man gives a woman a diamond ring, what does that usually mean?

Edward held her close, the clean scent of shower gel lingering on his skin as he kissed the corner of her mouth. "You liked it, didn't you?"

"It may be a diamond ring, but it's just jewelry. There's no rule saying I can't give you one."

Just that?

In an instant, Bella's heart turned cold.

She forced a smile and quickly closed the box. "Take it back."

"Why? I thought you liked it." Edward frowned, genuinely confused.

Bella took a deep breath, looking directly into his eyes. She didn't know if he truly didn't understand what giving a woman a diamond ring symbolized, or if he was just pretending. "If I wanted it, couldn't I buy it myself? Edward, what I want is commitment, not diamond rings or jewelry."

Edward looked at her and laughed. "These days, what good is a promise? At least diamonds are real and tangible. Bella, you're not a kid anymore. Why do you still say such childish things?"

The atmosphere chilled.

Despite having just stepped out of a hot shower, her body still warm, Bella shivered. Suddenly, she felt ridiculous.

Edward's expression quickly softened, and he placed a conciliatory kiss on the corner of her eye. "Let's say I misspoke, okay?"

She felt her skin burn where his lips had touched.

She knew this was as close to an apology as Edward ever got. This gesture was his only form of saying sorry.

Usually, this would be the moment she'd accept his apology.

But she didn't want to this time, and even pushed him away. "It's late. I want to go home."

"You're still angry? You..." Edward's words were cut off by the ringing phone.

Bella saw him knit his brows in displeasure.

She secretly sighed with relief as she answered the call, discovering it was from her parents.

"What's going on? We invited relatives over, and you still haven't come back. What are you doing out there?" Bella's mother, Fallon Garcia, urged her to return.

Having just fought with Edward, Bella felt exhausted and had zero desire to face that scene at home. "Mom, I'm not coming back for dinner. You guys entertain the relatives without me."

"You think saying you're not coming home tonight means you can skip dinner too?"

"I really can't make it back. I'm busy," Bella deflected.

Fallon, standing in the living room, glanced at the table full of prepared dishes and the waiting relatives. She lowered her voice, "What exactly are you so busy with? You always say you're busy. I could handle barely speaking to you for weeks at a time before."

"But do you know what today is? Your aunt is here. Are you deliberately trying to embarrass your father and me?"

Hearing this, all the frustrations Bella had bottled up that evening finally erupted.

"Mom! I told you, my job keeps me busy, and I never wanted to go on blind dates in the first place—you two made me do it. Fine, I went, but the guy wasn't interested. What am I supposed to do about that?"

"One failed blind date should have been the end of it, but now you've brought Aunt in? Everyone knows she loves setting people up, and always with the worst guys. Can't you think about what I want for once?" Bella rushed through her words.

"Bella, you—"

Before Fallon could finish, Bella hung up.

Then, her emotions rapidly plummeted.

When a person's emotions spike to their highest point, what often follows is the lowest valley.

That's exactly where Bella found herself now.

"You're making stuff up. If you don't want to go on blind dates, just say no. Why get so worked up?" Edward pulled her close with a low laugh, his amusement palpable.

Bella pushed him away and stood up. "It's none of your business. I'm tired and want to go home and rest."

Edward offered to drive her home and went to get his car keys. Bella didn't refuse.

The night was deep and dark.

Bella stared out the car window, lost in thought.

Suddenly, she noticed someone standing at the bottom of her apartment building who looked vaguely familiar.

"The Evans guy?" Edward unfastened his seatbelt, spotting him too.

He actually remembered Dallas.

Bella quickly got out of the car. After all, this was the blind date her mother had set up for her, and from the looks of it, he'd been waiting quite a while.

"Bella? You weren't upstairs? I thought you were home." Dallas was surprised to see her approaching from behind, though his surprise couldn't match Bella's.

She noticed the moisture on Dallas's shoulders, now covered in dew—he must have been waiting for ages.

"Have you been here the whole time?" Bella felt something strange in her chest.

Why would Dallas specifically come to wait outside her apartment building?

Their last outing hadn't seemed particularly pleasant; she'd assumed the blind date had been unsuccessful.

"Yeah, I brought you something." Without even asking, Dallas handed her the flowers in his hand.

He seemed completely confident that Bella would accept them.

But before the flowers reached Bella's hands, Edward intercepted them.

"What pathetic flowers. I could pick better ones with a two-minute walk through any park." After criticizing the flowers, Edward moved on to criticizing Bella.

"This is the kind of blind date you go for? He's so stingy—if you married a guy like this, it would be a miracle if you had a decent life."

Dallas stood dumbfounded for a long moment before remembering to be angry. "What's your problem? Who are you anyway? I bought perfectly good flowers, and you're trashing them like this?"

"Me?"

Edward smirked. "Let's just say I understand her better than you do."